WASHINGTON – Senior White House official I. Lewis
Libby was indicted today on obstruction of justice, false
statement and perjury charges for allegedly lying about how
and when in 2003 he learned and subsequently disclosed to
reporters then-classified information concerning the
employment of Valerie Wilson by the Central Intelligence
Agency. Libby was charged with one count of obstruction of
justice, two counts of perjury and two counts of making
false statements in a five-count indictment returned today
by a federal grand jury as its term expired, announced
Justice Department Special Counsel Patrick J.
Fitzgerald.

The defendant, also known as “Scooter” Libby,
has served since January 20, 2001, as Assistant to the
President, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, and
Assistant to the Vice President for National Security
Affairs. Libby, 55, will be arraigned at a later date in
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The
charges allege that Libby lied to FBI agents who interviewed
him on October 14 and November 26, 2003; committed perjury
while testifying under oath before the grand jury on March 5
and March 24, 2004; and engaged in obstruction of justice by
impeding the grand jury’s investigation into the
unauthorized disclosure – or “leaking” – of Valerie Wilson’s
affiliation with the CIA to various reporters in the spring
of 2003.

Beginning in late May 2003, Libby allegedly began
acquiring information about a 2002 trip to the African
country of Niger by Joseph Wilson, a former United States
Ambassador and career State Department official, to
investigate allegations concerning efforts by the former
government of Iraq to acquire uranium yellowcake, a
processed form of uranium ore. The CIA decided on its own
initiative to send Wilson to Niger after an inquiry to the
CIA by the Vice President concerning certain intelligence
reporting. Wilson orally reported his findings to the CIA
upon his return. Subsequently, Libby allegedly lied about
information he discussed about the CIA employment of
Wilson’s wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, in conversations Libby
had in June and July 2003 with three news reporters – Tim
Russert of NBC News, Matt Cooper of Time magazine, and
Judith Miller of The New York Times.

Prior to July 14,
2003, Valerie Wilson’s employment status was classified.
Prior to that date, her affiliation with the CIA was not
common knowledge outside the intelligence community.
Disclosure of classified information about an individual’s
employment by the CIA has the potential to damage the
national security in ways that range from preventing that
individual’s future use in a covert capacity, to
compromising intelligence-gathering methods and operations,
and endangering the safety of CIA employees and those who
deal with them, the indictment states.

“When citizens
testify before grand juries they are required to tell the
truth,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “Without the truth, our
criminal justice system cannot serve our nation or its
citizens. The requirement to tell the truth applies equally
to all citizens, including persons who hold high positions
in government. In an investigation concerning the compromise
of a CIA officer’s identity, it is especially important that
grand jurors learn what really happened. The indictment
returned today alleges that the efforts of the grand jury to
investigate such a leak were obstructed when Mr. Libby lied
about how and when he learned and subsequently disclosed
classified information about Valerie Wilson,” he added. Mr.
Fitzgerald announced the charges with John C. Eckenrode,
Special Agent-in-Charge of the Philadelphia Field Office of
the FBI and the lead agent in the investigation. The
Washington Field Office and the Inspection Division of the
FBI assisted in the investigation.

The indictment alleges
that Libby had frequent access to classified information and
frequently spoke with officials of the U.S. intelligence
community and other government officials regarding sensitive
national security matters. With his responsibilities for
national security matters, Libby held security clearances
giving him access to classified information. Libby was
obligated by federal criminal statute, regulations,
executive orders, and a written non-disclosure agreement not
to disclose classified information to unauthorized persons,
and to properly safeguard classified information against
unauthorized disclosure.

According to the indictment, on
September 26, 2003, the Department of Justice and the FBI
began a criminal investigation into the possible
unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding
Valerie Wilson’s CIA affiliation to various reporters in the
spring of 2003. In January 2004, the grand jury
investigation began examining possible violations of
criminal laws prohibiting disclosing the identity of covert
intelligence personnel (The Intelligence Identities
Protection Act), improperly disclosing national defense
information, making false statements to government agents,
and perjury. A major focus of the grand jury investigation
was to determine which government officials had disclosed to
the media prior to July 14, 2003, information concerning
Valerie Wilson’s CIA affiliation, and the nature, timing,
extent, and purpose of such disclosures, as well as whether
any official made such a disclosure knowing that Valerie
Wilson’s employment by the CIA was classified
information.

The over-arching obstruction of justice count
alleges that while testifying under oath before the grand
jury on March 5 and March 24 2004, Libby knowingly and
corruptly endeavored to influence, obstruct and impede the
grand jury’s investigation by misleading and deceiving the
grand jury as to when, and the manner and means by which, he
acquired, and subsequently disclosed to the media,
information concerning the employment of Valerie Wilson by
the CIA. The obstruction count alleges that Libby made the
following materially false and intentionally misleading
statements:

< When Libby spoke with Tim Russert of NBC on
or about July 10, 2003, Russert asked Libby if Libby knew
that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA, and told Libby that
all the reporters knew it; and Libby was surprised to hear
that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA; when, in fact, Libby
knew Russert did not ask Libby if Libby knew that Wilson’s
wife worked for the CIA, nor did Russert tell Libby that all
the reporters knew it. And, at the time of this
conversation, Libby was well aware that Wilson’s wife worked
at the CIA and Libby had participated in multiple prior
conversations concerning this topic;

< Libby advised Matt
Cooper of Time magazine on or about July 12, 2003, that he
had heard that other reporters were saying that Wilson’s
wife worked for the CIA, and further advised him that Libby
did not know whether this assertion was true; when, in fact,
Libby did not advise Cooper during that conversation that
Libby had heard other reporters were saying that Wilson’s
wife worked for the CIA, nor did Libby advise him that Libby
did not know whether this assertion was true. Rather, Libby
confirmed to Cooper, without qualification, that Libby had
heard that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA; and

< Libby
advised Judith Miller of The New York Times on or about July
12, 2003, that he had heard that other reporters were saying
that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA but Libby did not know
whether that assertion was true; when, in fact, Libby did
not advise Miller during that conversation that Libby had
heard other reporters were saying that Wilson’s wife worked
for the CIA, nor did Libby advise her that Libby did not
know whether this assertion was true. Among the events
leading up to these conversations, on January 28, 2003,
President Bush delivered his State of the Union address
which included sixteen words asserting that “The British
government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

On May 6,
2003, The New York Times published a column by Nicholas
Kristof which disputed the accuracy of the “sixteen words”
in the State of the Union address. The column reported that,
following a request from the Vice President’s office for an
investigation of allegations that Iraq sought to buy uranium
from Niger, an unnamed former ambassador was sent to Niger
in 2002 to investigate the allegations. According to the
column, the ambassador reported back to the CIA and State
Department in early 2002 that the allegations were
unequivocally wrong and based on forged documents. According
to the indictment, beginning in late May and throughout
June, Libby participated in multiple conversations
concerning Valerie Wilson’s employment by the CIA, including
on the following occasions:

• on or about May 29, 2003, in
the White House, Libby asked an Undersecretary of State for
information concerning the unnamed ambassador’s travel to
Niger. The Undersecretary thereafter directed the State
Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research to prepare
a report concerning the ambassador and his trip. The
Undersecretary provided Libby with interim oral reports in
late May and early June 2003, and advised Libby that Wilson
was the former ambassador who took the trip;

• on or about
June 9, 2003, a number of classified documents from the CIA
were faxed to the Office of the Vice President to the
personal attention of Libby and another person in the Vice
President’s office. The documents, which bore classification
markings, discussed, among other things, Wilson and his trip
to Niger, but did not mention Wilson by name. After
receiving these documents, Libby and one or more other
persons in the Vice President’s office handwrote the names
“Wilson” and “Joe Wilson” on the documents;

• on or about
June 11 or 12, 2003, Libby was orally advised by the
Undersecretary of State that Wilson’s wife worked for the
CIA and that State Department personnel were saying that
Wilson’s wife was involved in the organization of his
trip;

• on or about June 11, 2003, Libby was informed by a
senior officer of the CIA that Wilson’s wife was employed by
the CIA and was believed to be responsible for sending
Wilson on the trip;

• prior to June 12, 2003, Washington
Post reporter Walter Pincus contacted the Office of the Vice
President about a story he was writing about Wilson’s trip.
Libby participated in discussions in the Vice President’s
office concerning how to respond to Pincus;

• on or about
June 12, 2003, Libby was advised by the Vice President of
the United States that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA in
the Counterproliferation Division. Libby understood that the
Vice President had learned this information from the
CIA;

• on or about June 14, 2003, Libby met with a CIA
briefer and expressed displeasure that CIA officials were
making comments to reporters critical of the Vice
President’s office, and discussed with the briefer, among
other things, “Joe Wilson” and his wife “Valerie Wilson,” in
the context of Wilson’s trip to Niger;

• shortly after
publication on or about June 19, 2003, of an article in The
New Republic magazine online entitled “The First Casualty:
The Selling of the Iraq War,” Libby spoke by telephone with
his then Principal Deputy and discussed the article. That
official asked Libby whether information about Wilson’s trip
could be shared with the press to rebut the allegations that
the Vice President had sent Wilson. Libby responded that
there would be complications at the CIA in disclosing that
information publicly, and that he could not discuss the
matter on a non-secure telephone line; and

• on or about
June 23, 2003, Libby met with Judith Miller of The New York
Times. Libby was critical of the CIA and disparaged what he
termed “selective leaking” by the CIA concerning
intelligence matters. In discussing the CIA’s handling of
Wilson’s trip to Niger, Libby informed Miller Wilson’s wife
might work at a bureau of the CIA.

On July 6, 2003, The
New York Times published an opinion article by Joseph Wilson
entitled “What I Didn’t Find in Africa.” On the same day,
the Washington Post published an article about Wilson’s 2002
trip to Niger, which was based partially on an interview of
Wilson, and he was a guest on the television program “Meet
the Press.” In the article he wrote, as well as in the print
and broadcast interviews of him, Wilson asserted, among
other things, that he had taken a trip to Niger at the
request of the CIA in February 2002 to investigate
allegations that Iraq has sought or obtained uranium
yellowcake from Niger, and that he doubted Iraq had obtained
uranium from Niger recently, for a number of reasons. Wilson
said that he believed, based on his understanding of
government procedures, that the Vice President’s office was
advised of the results of his trip.

Following Wilson’s
July 6, 2003 statements, according to the indictment, Libby
engaged in the following actions:

• on or about July 7,
2003, Libby had lunch with the then White House Press
Secretary and advised that individual that Wilson’s wife
worked at the CIA, noting that such information was not
widely known;

• on or about the morning of July 8, 2003,
Libby met with Miller of The New York Times. When the
conversation turned to the subject of Joseph Wilson, Libby
asked that the information he provided on the topic of
Wilson be attributed to a “former Hill staffer” rather than
to a “senior administration official,” as had been the
understanding regarding other information that Libby
provided to Miller during this meeting. Libby then discussed
with Miller Wilson’s trip and criticized the CIA reporting
concerning Wilson’s trip. During this discussion, Libby
advised Miller of his belief that Wilson’s wife worked for
the CIA;

• also on or about July 8, 2003, Libby met with
the Counsel to the Vice President in an anteroom outside the
Vice President’s office. During their brief conversation,
Libby asked the individual what paperwork there would be at
the CIA if an employee’s spouse undertook an overseas
trip;

• no earlier than June 2003 but on or before July 8,
2003, the Assistant to the Vice President for Public Affairs
learned from another government official that Wilson’s wife
worked at the CIA and advised Libby of this information;

•
on or about July 10, 2003, Libby spoke to NBC’s Russert to
complain about press coverage of Libby by an MSNBC reporter.
Libby did not discuss Wilson’s wife with Russert;

• on or
about July 10 or July 11, 2003, Libby spoke to a senior
White House official (“Official A”) who advised Libby of a
conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist
Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed as a CIA
employee involved in Wilson’s trip. Libby was advised by
Official A that Novak would be writing a story about
Wilson’s wife;

• on or about July 12, 2003, Libby flew
with the Vice President and others to and from Norfolk, Va.,
on Air Force Two. On his return trip, Libby discussed with
other officials aboard the plane what Libby should say in
response to certain pending media inquiries, including
questions from Time’s Cooper;

• on or about July 12, 2003,
in the afternoon, Libby spoke by telephone to Cooper, who
asked whether Libby had heard that Wilson’s wife was
involved in sending Wilson on the trip to Niger. Libby
confirmed to Cooper, without elaboration or qualification,
that he had heard this information too; and

• on or about
July 12, 2003, in the late afternoon, Libby spoke by
telephone with Miller and discussed Wilson’s wife, and that
she worked at the CIA. The false statement charge in Count
Two of the indictment alleges that Libby lied to FBI agents
on October14 and November 26, 2003, regarding the
conversation with Russert on July 10, 2003. Count

Three
charges Libby with making false statements to FBI agents
during the same FBI interviews in October and November 2003
relating to his July 12, 2003 conversation with
Cooper.

The perjury charge in Count Four alleges that
Libby lied while testifying under oath before the grand jury
on March 5, 2004, about his conversation with Russert on
July 10, 2003, because, in fact, Russert did not ask Libby
if Libby knew that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA, nor did
Russert tell Libby that all the reporters knew it, and at
the time of their conversation, Libby was well aware that
Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA.

Count Five charges Libby
with perjury before the grand jury for allegedly lying when
he said that he told reporters that he was telling them what
other reporters were saying – first, on March 5, 2004, about
his conversation with Cooper on or about July 12, 2003, and
second, on March 24, 2004, regarding conversations with
reporters. In fact, Libby well knew that he did not advise
Cooper or other reporters that he had heard other reporters
were saying that Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA, nor did
Libby advise Cooper or other reporters that he did not know
whether this assertion was true. If convicted, the crimes
charged in the indictment carry the following maximum
penalties on each count: obstruction of justice – 10 years
in prison, and making false statements and perjury –5 years
in prison, and each count carries a maximum fine of
$250,000, making the maximum penalty for conviction on all
counts 30 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine. Note,
however, that the Court would determine the appropriate
sentence to be imposed.

The public is reminded that an
indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of
guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to
a fair trial at which the government has the burden of
proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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